Gold futures posted their biggest move in two weeks to settle lower on Thursday as strength in the U.S. dollar and upbeat economic data helped push prices down for the week.

June gold
US:GCM6
fell for a second session, shedding $21.80, or 1.81%, to settle at $1,226.50 an ounce, its biggest daily move since it fell 2% on March 23. For the week, the precious metal is down 1.4%.

May silver
US:SIK6
was also down 15 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $16.173 an ounce.

The rebound in the U.S. dollar index the past two days is a “bearish element for the precious metals markets, as is the improved risk appetite in the world marketplace recently,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com.

Release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book late Wednesday, after gold prices settled, offered some pockets of optimism on the U.S. economy. The report said wages have started to rise, while the prolonged decline in oil production may be coming to an end.

Early Thursday, data showed that weekly U.S. jobless claims fell to 253,000, matching the lowest mark since the end of the Great Recession.

“Momentum is picking up towards the downside, but we do not expect any major sell off or new trend developing,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.

“Traders are not willing to believe any more that another [interest] rate hike is not coming in a few months,” he added, noting that risk appetite remains strong.

Higher interest rates can boost the dollar and dull demand for dollar-denominated commodities.

In other metals trading, May copper
US:HGK6
edged up 0.1% to settle at $2.17 a pound. July platinum
US:PLN6
fell $10.10, or 1%, to settle at $992.90 an ounce while June palladium
US:PAM6
added $18.40, or 3.4%, to settle at $560.90 an ounce.

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